


I didn't see you there

by Dr_Hoffmans_Mechanic



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 20:11:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17731856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dr_Hoffmans_Mechanic/pseuds/Dr_Hoffmans_Mechanic
Summary: Many single parents do a brilliant job; and then there's Markos.





	1. Chapter 1

“A new bed?” Markos didn’t turn round from the drachmae he was counting and bagging. “Of course you can’t have a new bed. What’s wrong with the one you have?”

“It’s getting too small Markos,” Kassandra scuffed a foot in the dirt of the floor. It needed sweeping again.

“The bed isn’t getting too small, it’s you getting too big,” he swung his legs over the bench and turned to face her.

“It’s just one fucking thing after another with you these days Kassandra, “he sighed. “Markos, I need a new tunic. Markos, my sandals need repairing. Markos, I’m hungry.”

She was always fucking hungry these days it seemed, she ate more than the damned donkey.

He eyed her up and down as she stood, kicking sullenly at the dirt, scratching her elbow.

When had this happened, he wondered?

It seemed as though overnight she had gone from the cute, compact little rat he had rescued from the waves to this strange, gangly creature as tall as him. 

She was all planes and angles. The puppy fat had melted from her face while he wasn’t looking. Her shoulders were stretching at the seams of her tunic; surely he’d only bought that a few weeks ago? Her hands were huge, and scarred already with the cuts and nicks of training.

Oh gods, she was going to grow into a weird looking woman wasn’t she? She had been such a cute little kid. Once she’d stopped crying at night. 

That had been an ordeal. He’d nearly sent her to live with Selene like the woman had asked, but she was a lot more use to him here than in a whorehouse. 

And besides, he’d grown fond of her.

She’d be even more use as an attractive woman though. Far easier for a beauty to flirt her way into good deals from his suppliers. Customers would be more willing to pay promptly if he sent a lovely young woman round.

Had he offended Aphrodite somehow? 

He always paid Selene a little more than her rates required, he was scrupulous about that. It was only fair after all, she definitely knew what he liked. He also suspected she might have his fingers broken if he objected, but that was beside the point.

Perhaps he should make an offering to the goddess, curry some favour. Kassandra was just awkward and gangly as yet, plenty of time still to be kissed by Aphrodite. 

What would be the cheapest offering? Doves? Was that an Aphrodite thing? He wasn’t a religious man, he’d have to check with Selene. 

Actually, he’d be able to get Kassandra to catch a few pigeons. That would be even cheaper. And only fair, since it was for her benefit after all.

Kassandra muttered something that he couldn’t make out since she seemed to be directing it to the floor.

“What’s that? Speak up, I can’t hear you with your head down like that.”

She raised her chin but still avoided his gaze. She was trying not to cry, he suspected.

After the first few weeks, when her nightmares and sobbing had almost driven him to distraction, she’d become quite a stoic little thing, to his relief.

He remembered the time she’d fallen while out climbing and broken her arm. She’d stumbled home, hugging the limb to her chest, a little pale, but totally dry eyed. She hadn’t cried or winced once as the healer had set it. It was impressive really. Cost him a goat though. 

But he hadn’t complained. 

Then there was the chunk of honeycomb he’d paid for the mixture to help her sleep. The girl had demurred, but Selene had insisted, and he hadn’t really argued. He’d just wanted the child to be comfortable. He hadn’t stinted.

And now here she was in the middle of the damn day demanding a new bed.

“What did you say?”, he’d missed it again, his mind was all over the place

Kassandra looked up, her eyes were a little red, but to her credit she wasn’t crying.

“I can’t help growing.”

He gave a huge sigh and rubbed his hands roughly over his face. His beard needed trimming again. Perhaps he would ask Selene to do it. He might go to visit her tonight. He’d need it after this.

“Look. Kassandra.” He leaned forward, elbows on knees and assumed, what he hoped was a reasonable, comforting expression.

“I know you can’t help growing. Everyone grows. I’m just saying perhaps you could slow down now, give yourself time to fill out a little,” he sat up and sketched an exaggerated womanly outline in the air. “You don’t need to be any taller really.”

To his dismay her lower lip trembled a bit. 

What now?! Oh gods, she wasn’t going to cry after all was she?

He didn’t need this right now, he was expecting a delivery today. There would be heavy baskets to move, and Kassandra was unnervingly strong for her age. Far more than her gangly physique would suggest.

He definitely didn’t need her flouncing off in a huff over something he could do nothing about. Come to think of it she’d been doing a lot of that lately. Taking off into the wilds, just when he needed her.

She suddenly squared her chin and drew back her shoulders.

“Then you should have picked a littler kid from the beach!”, she spat, glowering.

Turning on her heel she strode towards the door.

“It’s not like there was selection!” he snapped, furious. 

“And don’t kick the fucking...door...” he finished lamely as she did just that. 

He shouldn’t have said that. He hadn’t meant to. Where had that even come from?

Getting up, he walked over to the door, and pulled it open. Kassandra was nowhere to be seen. Where in Tartarus had she gone so quickly?

Rummaging sounds from upstairs told him she was in her room. Moments later he heard scrabbling and jumped out of the way as she came clambering down the front wall, dropping to the floor, a quiver strapped to her back and her bow in hand.

“What have I told you about climbing around the house like that?!” he snapped, before he could stop himself.

“To not fucking do it,” Kassandra snarled, glaring at him.

“Watch your mouth, young lady,” he raised a finger.

She turned and took a step towards him, glowering, and he couldn’t stop himself from drawing back, suddenly unnerved. 

Gods, she was getting big. 

If she kept this up and did fill out on top of it she was going to be impressive. Impressive and terrifying, he thought. 

Muscle and charm were equally useful in his line of work.

Kassandra barrelled past him, catching his shoulder with hers, knocking him out of her way and storming off across the yard, kicking a bucket out of the way as she went, scattering corn in a wide arc.

Damn it! She was supposed to have put that away, he frowned. Now the fucking chickens were going to get into it. 

Shit! Here they came.

He rushed over to stop the clucking swarm from descending on the spilled grain, only to realise there was nothing he could do, the bucket was empty, the birds already gobbling down the windfall.

“And “littler” isn’t a word!!” he yelled at Kassandra’s departing back.

 

Kassandra hadn’t returned by the time the cart rattled up with his delivery. He’d had to shift all the baskets on his own after all. The carter declined to help, sitting on the wall, scratching himself, watching Markos sweat.

She hadn’t returned by the time the sun set.

Markos wasn’t worried, the kid could look after herself. 

She was a killer with that bow. Literally. 

All the meat they ate came from her efforts. Apart from the chicken. For some reason she wouldn’t kill those. He had to do it himself. 

He’d asked her once and she’d muttered something about how they couldn’t run or fight back. That was the beauty of them surely, he’d argued, but she was immovable. He had to neck the chickens himself every time. 

Didn’t stop her eating the fucking meat, he thought sourly.

Some days recently he wished he’d left her on the beach. Then she’d really have something to be sulky and argumentative about. He should have left her to starve in the waves. 

Or worse. 

She had no idea the terrible things that could happen to an unprotected girl. She should be thanking him, not storming off in a huff the minute things didn’t go her way.

His shoulders were aching. Lifting all those baskets, he reflected, rubbing hard. He wasn’t built for it. The tension of the argument didn’t help either, but he knew what would help. 

There had been a neatly wrapped package of dates in amongst the baskets. Selene loved dates and you couldn’t always get them.


	2. Chapter 2

He hadn’t really considered how sweaty he was. Taking one sniff Selene had made him go and wash off at the pump in the yard. 

Two of the younger women were free and chose to spend the time leaning in the doorway, eating figs and chuckling at him.

“Come on now girls,” Selene glided up behind them. “You’ve seen plenty of fat, hairy, naked men,” she ushered them away. “Go and be gorgeous by the front door, the pair of you.”

“I’m not fat,” Markos said petulantly as she handed him a large, soft sheet to wrap himself in. “I’m solid.”

“Of course you are, sweet,” Selene smiled serenely. “Dry yourself off and then we can go upstairs and find out just how solid.”

“I wanted to ask you to trim my beard,” Markos mumbled, drying his face.

“Barbering services are usually extra,” she tilted her head thoughtfully. “But I suppose the dates will cover it. Thank you for those by the way. You realise that the ideal time to tell me this would have been before you washed.”

“You didn’t give me a chance,” he protested. “I had barely got through the door.”

“Well you did stink, sweetheart,” she pointed out. “So I suppose, better this way. I won’t have to hold my breath while I do it. Sit down there, we’ll do it out here. I don’t want stubble all over the floor. Wrap the sheet about you, keep the hair off.”

She went inside and returned, scissors in hand. Markos situated himself comfortably, leaning back against her, closing his eyes, listening to the regular hissing slide of the blades, enjoying the firm strokes of Selene’s hand as she tested and smoothed.

“Kassandra was by earlier,” she said with studied casualness. “Careful, I nearly nipped your ear,” she warned as he flinched.

“Really?” he said tightly. “And what did she want?”

“Nothing specific,” Selene continued calmly. “She brought us some rabbits. The girl is a very good hunter. You’re lucky to have her.”

“Be luckier if she was providing me with rabbits,” he replied irritably.

“Oh you don’t go short,”Selene chuckled softly and gave his paunch a fond pat. 

“Did you pay her?” he asked before he could stop himself.

The clipping stopped. He didn’t dare open his eyes.

“She wouldn’t take anything,” she replied tightly, after a tense pause. “I sent her sandals over to get repaired instead. She allowed that.”

“Big of her,” Markos said peevishly.

“She needs new sandals, Markos,” Selene’s voice was acquiring an edge. “She needs new sandals, a new tunic.”

“Did she tell you all this?” he opened his eyes and sat up. “Is that where she’s been all afternoon, instead of helping me? Over here at the whorehouse tattling on me?”

“You need to think very carefully about what you say next Markos,” her tone was glacial now.

After some thought he settled on silence.

“She doesn’t need to tell tales Markos,” she continued. “It’s blindingly obvious. She’s growing, she needs new clothing. It was bad enough her running around like a beggar when she was a little girl, she’s too big now to be walking around in a tunic that barely covers her ass.”

He snorted. 

“Who in their right mind is going to want to look at Kassandra’s ass?” he snapped.

“Pretty soon a lot of people will!” Selene snapped right back. “She’s nearly a woman Markos, and she’s growing into a beauty.” She stopped clipping again at his laughter.

“What do you know, “he shook his head. “and only today I was thinking what a strange, gangly girl she is. By the way, are doves an acceptable sacrifice to Aphrodite? And when I say doves, I mean pigeons of course.”

Selene was looking at him oddly.

“Why do you ask?” she said coolly.

“I was thinking I would make an offering on Kassandra’s behalf,” he explained, missing the ice in her expression. “Ask the goddess to bless her.”

“The goddess has already blessed her,” she inched back from him and began to brush clippings from her skirts. “You should be offering doves in gratitude. And that was a good guess Markos, doves are indeed acceptable.”

“But pigeons are practically the same after all”, he brushed at his beard. 

Selene was eyeing him as though she’d never really seen him before.

“You’re a fool,” she said quietly. “Of course, I knew that. But I never realised just how much of a fool until this moment.”

He looked up, puzzled.

“Any day now she will start her bleeds, what will you do then Markos?”

“Me?” he frowned. “I hadn’t thought of it. I just...well I assumed that you or one of the girls here would explain what was happening and give her...well, whatever you do when it happens.”

Selene got to her feet and walked over to the pump. Standing well back, so as not to splash her skirts, she rinsed the scissors.

“Are we finished?” he smoothed his hands over his beard, testing the length. “That feels much better.”

“Yes. We’re finished,” Selene turned and cast a solemn look at him.

“Shall we go up then, my lovely? “he grinned expectantly, getting to his feet.

Holding the sheet about him, he reached out a hand. The sound of drunken laughter drifted out of the door behind him and he could hear a woman’s voice. She was singing a song about a woman pining for a distant lover. 

Selene didn’t reach for his hand. Nor did she return his smile.

“I told her what to expect some time ago. We have given her everything she’ll need. I have told her that if she is worried, or in pain, she should come to me.”

“There then!” Markos sighed, frustrated, gesturing widely. “You’ve already sorted it out. Why are we even having this conversation? It’s all sorted. You’ve told her, she’s got...whatever...why did you even think this was something I wanted to know about?”

“Markos,” Selene approached. Placing a gentle hand on his arm, she continued more softly. 

“Let Kassandra come to stay here. I have a room she can use. Clio and Europa are just a couple of years or so older. We all love her, Markos,” there was a pleading edge to her voice now.

“She could come over every day to do her chores, to make your deliveries, run your errands,” she smiled. “But she would have company. The company of women.”

Markos closed his eyes, shaking his head furiously.

“The company of whores!” he snapped unwisely.

Selene slapped him so hard that he lost his grip on the sheet he held and was too stunned to catch it. 

The sound rang around the yard for a moment or two before dying, leaving only the woman’s voice, still singing. 

A different melody now.

A slow trickle of blood began down Markos’s cheek where one of Selene’s rings had caught him.

He stood for long moments, staring at her, stunned.

“You may leave now, Markos,” she glided past him.

“Selene…!” he scrabbled to collect his clothes and rushed after her, clutching the bunched up sheet in front of him.

“Do not return, unless you are invited,” she picked up a small, neatly wrapped parcel from a low table by the door and placed it on top of his bundled clothes.

“Thank you, but I find that I no longer care for dates.”

“Selene, I’m sorry,” he said plaintively. “It has been a difficult day, I didn’t..”

“Andras,” Selene called to the muscular mercenary that she hired to keep order in the evenings.

He was already halfway across the room.

“Markos is leaving,” Selene smiled coolly. “He is not to return until further notice.”

She turned to face Markos.

“Kassandra may return the sheet whenever she wishes.”


	3. Chapter 3

Markos didn’t sleep that night. Dawn found him sitting wearily, nursing a cup of wine that he didn’t really want.

Eventually he caught the crunch of a familiar tread on the gritty ground of the yard.

Hearing a hand on the door he took a swallow of wine. His throat was suddenly dry.

There was an awkward creaking as the door opened, a little unsteadily. The hinges really needed repairing, he thought. He should see if he could do that.

Kassandra stood silhouetted against the morning sun. She filled the whole doorway. How could he not have seen. How could he have missed the girl departing, the woman approaching.

She didn’t move for a moment and he was afraid she would leave without speaking. He had been running through what he would say all night, as he carried the planks up the stairs, back aching, hands full of splinters.

Now she was here, he couldn’t speak. 

To his relief, she stepped inside. She left the door open behind her. An escape route, he realised; in case he mishandled this.

He watched in silence as she strode across the room, over to a pail of water in a shaded corner. He heard her dip a cup, the loud rhythm of her swallowing.

Cautiously, as though she was a wild creature, skittish and unpredictable, he turned to face her.

She had her back to him and was drinking another cup of water. 

Since yesterday the shoulder of her tunic had ripped a little. She couldn’t move properly in it he realised, couldn’t draw her bow properly. Selene was right. It wasn’t decent.

“Hello Kassandra,” he ventured softly, as though meeting her for the first time. “I was worried about you.”

She didn’t turn, or speak. He saw her shoulders draw up, then lower, as she took a great chestful of air.

“I’m glad you’re back,” he continued. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

He waited, scared to continue, afraid his next words might be the wrong ones. Might be the words that made her flee. Steeling himself he took another mouthful of wine. His throat was so tight that his voice sounded strange, unfamiliar to him.

“I was thinking about what you said,” his hands were shaking a little he saw. Tiredness?

“Then I remembered that there was all that wood at the back of the house. Left over from when we repaired the stable, remember?”

Kassandra remained immobile, pitiless, staring into the corner.

“I thought I could make you a new bed perhaps? Or we could do it together, maybe. You’re good with your hands. Much better than me. I would like you to help me. We could make it how you like then? You could tell me how you wanted it?”

A fly buzzed in, circled the room, otherwise silence.

“Or I could do it, that’s fine. It would be a surprise that way eh? I could start while you’re out hunting, or climbing or..”

He tailed off.

Please, just say something, he thought. Just something, anything, to let me know that you understand what I’m trying to say.

“You could go into Sami if you like? Ask Selene if she’ll take you shopping. Those sandals are a disgrace. You’re going to break your neck climbing in those. Get some new tunics as well. You’ve grown out of that one. I see a lot of that green fabric about. You know, the deep green one? I think Clio has a cloak of it. She’s the same colouring as you and she looks well in it. I think it would suit you. Selene know where to get all the best clothes. I owe you some money, your share of the errands you run for me. It should be enough to cover what you need.”

He was babbling, but he couldn’t stop himself.

He was shocked when Kassandra suddenly moved, turned to face him. He flinched back. Had he said too much, gone too far?

Her face was impassive, but her eyes...there was too much in those eyes he thought. She was barely a woman but she’d seen too much already.

She gazed at him silently for what seemed like a lifetime, then strode past him and out of the door.

Markos slumped, his throat was suddenly tight, his eyes swimming. 

How could he have said that to her yesterday, about not choosing her? He was a fool. Selene was right about that too. 

He jumped as Kassandra strode back in.

“I’d like the bed to be higher too if we have enough wood.”

He nodded, blinking frantically, hoping she wouldn’t see how close to tears he was.

“There’s lots, there’s lots of wood,” he turned his head briefly, brushing his cheek with the back of his hand. “Enough for a table as well I think, that would be useful no?”

Kassandra nodded slowly.

Suddenly she pulled something from behind her back. 

She dropped two large, grey brown rabbits on the table and gave him a quizzical look.

“You’ve cut your beard...it’s nice.”

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't like to think of young Kassandra not having any women to turn to, and I can't believe there's no brothel on Kephallonia. So I decided there is.


End file.
